Paula Deacon Garcia: Candidate profile, DuPage County Board District 2

Democrat Paula Deacon Garcia of Lisle is challenging Republican incumbent Sean Noonan of Elmhurst in District 2 of the DuPage County Board in the Nov. 3 general election.

Deacon Garcia has worked for a local municipality's building and customer service department for over two decades. She has served as a volunteer with DuPagePads, Lisle HSO (Home and School Organization, Girl Scouts, and as chair of the Lisle Township Food Pantry Vegetable Garden.

To explore her campaign website, check pdg4dupage.com.

District 2 serves all or portions of Addison, Clarendon Hills, Downers Grove, Elmhurst, Hinsdale, Lisle, Lombard, Naperville, Oak Brook, Oakbrook Terrace, Villa Park, Westmont, and Woodridge.

The Daily Herald asked the candidates to answer a series of questions. Here are Deacon Garcia's replies.

Q: What have we learned as a county from the COVID-19 pandemic and what changes should be made looking forward as a result?

A: The most important thing this awful pandemic has pointed out is that communication and readiness are key. There needs to be a county coordination between all the governmental, school, health department, townships and municipalities so that a unified message is shared with residents. If people are hearing the same message on how to be safe, there will be less confusion and the threat will be shortened.

Q: Why are you running for this office, whether for reelection or election for the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you? If so, what?

A: This is my first time running for any office and although I have many reasons for deciding to run for office, I would have to say my experience dealing with residents whose houses were damaged in flood events would be near the top of the list.

I was a certified floodplain manager for over 10 years and I helped many residents during the flooding in 2013 and subsequent flooding that occurred after. Stormwater management is something the county needs to be focusing on, so that flood events cause less widespread damage and heartbreak.

Q: If you are an incumbent, describe your main contributions. Tell us of any important initiatives you've led. If you are a challenger, what would you bring to the board and what would your priority be?

A: As the challenger I plan to focus on stormwater issues, recovery from COVID-19 (which includes getting businesses to open up again, safely), and to continue making sure health and safety is a priority.

As I am currently the chairman of the Lisle Township Food Pantry Vegetable Garden, which feeds the food insecure, I will also be focusing on residents who may need help, especially during these trying times.

I also feel strongly that the county board needs to work even more to provide help to people struggling with mental health issues. I look forward to working with NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) to find ways the DuPage County Board can be champion in helping in this cause.

Q: Describe your position regarding the allocation of resources in the recorder of deeds' office. Are personnel allocated as they should be? Are there capital expense or other budgetary items that the office must address, and, if so, how do you propose to address them?

A: This past few months the county board had the MGT Consulting Group study prepared, which discussed the recorder's office and the pros and cons of consolidating with the county clerk's office. I work in a municipality where departments have been consolidated, so I am aware of the issues that come up during the change. The MGT study stated that personnel should remain and I agree.

Savings would be realized by the elimination of an elected official's salary and benefits, and also from the department becoming more efficient. Like many government offices, many transactions are being done online (even more so since COVID-19) so it makes sense to have the employees cross train so that the workload in the two departments can be handled by any employee. This makes it run more efficient and in the long run saves money.

Q: Name one concrete program you'll create or personnel move you'll make to improve efficiency in the office or make it more successful. Explain how it will be funded and how you will overcome any obstacles to initiating it.

A: One personnel move that I believe the county board should reconsider is to reduce the size of the board. Our county is large, but it can be effectively represented by two county board members per district. This will provide savings of six elected officials' salaries and possible benefits.

If we are expecting county staff members to do more and cross train - than I think the county board should do the same. No funding will be needed and I am sorry voters did not get a chance to make their voices heard at the ballot box this year.

Q: Describe your position on transparency in the office and the ease of access to records by the public. If you believe improvements are needed, what are they and how would you go about achieving them?

A: I have been attending county board meetings for over a year now, so I now know where to find the links to agendas, packets and even videos - but it was a learning curve to navigate the website.

Not only does the website need better pathways to information, I believe for information to be more accessible, the DuPage County Facebook page needs to have a facelift. The page now is very good at showing photo ops with members at wonderful events and some county information.

The page should also be providing links to meetings, packets and board meeting videos. It should also provide a place to announce when there are openings for appointed positions, so all qualified people could be aware.

Now appointments are hidden and often go unfilled or filled with partisan friends. Each committee should have the most qualified person on it, regardless of politics. A social media task force should have a monthly meeting to go over the calendar and provide staff responsible for the Facebook page information of postings that need to be made to make everything happening at the county level transparent.